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Facing elimination!Playoffs continue at Softball City

Leigh Godfrey of Australia slides into second base after being forced out by the Venezuelan in� eld. The six teams in the Women’s International division continue their playoff round today, with three to advance to the � nal day tomorrow at Softball City. (Evan Seal/Surrey Leader photo)

USAJAPAN VENEZUELAAUSTRALIA

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Feature:Australiapage 2

Championship gamesFutures, Showcase � nalssee schedule on page 3

Player Pro� le Natalie Wideman page 4

Showdown: Women’s Elite championship

July 21

Team Australia is currently ranked third in the world softball standings and will be looking to improve upon that position this year.

At last year’s Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Champi-onship and the 2012 ISF World Champi-onships, Team Australia found themselves a spot ahead of Team Canada in the final rankings after some hard-fought battles against top teams on the championship diamond.

Players to watch on the 2013 squad include women’s college champion Georgia Casey, along

with Leah Parry, Sandra Holden, Stacey McManus and Stacey Webber.

The team will be in North America for a stretch of intense competition, hav-ing traveled to the Canadian Open

Fastpitch International Championship immediately following the World Cup

of Softball in Oklahoma City.

A few players on the team, including Georgia Casey, Stacey Webber and Sandra Holden are coming to Canada for the first time to participate in this tour-nament.

Fact: Team Australia is known as the Aussie Spirit.

Australia seeks to improve world ranking

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Australian pitcher Kiai Parnaby releases a pitch during the 2013 Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship. Australia is currently ranked third in the world. (Evan Seal/Surrey Leader photo)

Connect withCanadian OpenFastpitch

2013Visit www.CanadianOpenFastpitch.com for event information, maps, tickets, scores and more. Visit BC-LocalNews.com for feature coverage of the tournament by Black Press publications, including Peace Arch News and Surrey Leader.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTERFollow @CdnOpen on Twitter to stay up-to-the-minute with the 2013 Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship. Use the hashtag #COFP13 to let people know you’re tweeting about the tournament and to see what others are saying. Also, follow @BlackPressDigital to stay informed.

CONNECT WITH USON FACEBOOKLike us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CanadianOpenFastpitch, where the 2013 Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship will be posting daily news, player features, scores, games and more.

Also, � nd local coverage and all the stories, photos and info you need to stay current with the event by liking Black Press Facebook pages, including the Peace Arch News and Surrey Leader.

CONNECT WITH USON INSTAGRAM!Don’t forget to share your cool and creative photos from the ballpark with Instagram by following @cdno-pen_fastpitch.

WATCH GAMES ONLINE, JULY 16-22The Women’s International Championship games from the Championship Diamond will be broadcast LIVE online with our pay-per-view service! Visit www.CanadianOpenFastpitch.com to view live games through the dedicated feed directly from Softball City. Proudly supported by the video team from Briere Production Group and the website streaming services of NeuLion.

FOLLOW ALONGPointstreak Sports Technologies is the of� cial scorekeeping software for the Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship. Users will be able to access scores live in real-time at www.CanadianOpenFastpitch.com.

WATCH VIDEOS ON YOUTUBEVisit the Canadian Open Fastpitch of� cial YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/CdnOpenFastpitch for softball-related videos and tournament action.

2 CANADIAN OPEN FASTPITCH HOTSHEET • Sunday July 21, 2013

®Snapshots ofthe game:Sat. July 20

Tweet photos to @CdnOpen

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Today’s Schedule:

The White Rock Renegades are hoping to be one of the teams in the Women’s Elite final, scheduled for 4 p.m. today at Softball City on Diamond #1. (Evan Seal/Surrey Leader photo)

Sunday July 21, 2013 • CANADIAN OPEN FASTPITCH HOTSHEET 3

games to watch:Friday, July 12th ■ It’s Opening Day of the 2013 Scotiabank

Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship at Softball City.

saturday, July 13th

■ Women’s Elite Championship division play begins at Softball City.

■ It’s Opening Day of the 2013 Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship at Cloverdale Athletic Park and Sunnyside Park.

monday, July 15th

■ The Showcase Select C hampionship Game on Diamond 2 begins at 3:30 p.m., followed by the Showcase Select Awards Presentation.

■ Watch the Futures Select Championship Game on Diamond 2 at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Futures Select Awards Presentation.

tuesday, July 16th

■ Team Canada takes on China-Nanjing for their first game in the Women’s International Division on Diamond 1 at 6:30 p.m.

■ It’s Boy’s Night Out at the ballpark! Catch some local boys softball games at Diamond 2 at Softball City, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

wednesday, July 17th

■ Join the Celebration of Softball! The Parade of Athletes begins at 5:30 p.m. on Diamond 1 at Softball City.

■ Team Canada vs. Team Australia at 7 p.m. at Softball City.

thursday, July 18th

■ Visit Team Canada for their autograph signing, taking place after their 6:30 p.m. game vs. Team Japan at Softball City.

Friday, July 19th

■ The Women’s Elite All Star Awards take place at 5:30 p.m. on Diamond 1.

■ Team Canada vs. Team USA, 6:30 p.m. at Softball City.

saturday, July 20th

■ Don’t miss the Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch Women’s International All Star Awards on Diamond 1 at 6 p.m.

sunday, July 21st •

■ The Showcase Gold Championship Game will be held on Diamond 2 at 1:30 p.m., followed by the Showcase Gold Awards Presentation.

■ The Futures Gold Championship Game is on Diamond 2 at 4 p.m. followed by Futures Gold Awards.

■ The Women’s Elite Championship Game is set for Diamond 1 at 4 p.m., followed by the Women’s Elite Awards Presentation.

monday, July 22nd

■ The Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch Women’s International Championship Game happens on Diamond 1 at 7:30 p.m. followed by the Women’s International Awards Presentation.

Are you wondering what’s happening on the field when you’re somewhere else? View scores, statistics, and the live-updated Game Live system from Pointstreak scoring technologies online at www.CanadianOpenFastpitch.com

SUNDAY, July 21 PARKS: SBC - Softball City, CAP - Cloverdale Athletic Park, SP - Sunnyside Park.

Natalie WidemaN (CaNada)

In 2012 Natalie Wideman, California University of PA junior catcher/infielder, was named to All-PSAC (Pennsylva-nia State Athletic Conference) West First-Team and Capital One Academic All-District First Team.

She started all 43 games at second base, posting a .416 batting average with eight doubles, two home runs, 19 RBIs and 42 runs scored. She finished second in the PSAC with a .503 on-

base percentage and third in batting average and runs.

Wideman was a member of the Canadian team at the 2012 ISF World Championships and the Canadian Junior team at 2011 ISF Junior World Championships and 2010 Pan-Am Games.

did you know....? The Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship is split into six divisions (International Women’s, Women’s Elite, Futures (U19) Gold and Select, Showcase (16U) Gold and Select).

did you know....? A softball pitch at the 1996 Olympics was clocked at 73.3 MPH.

did you know....? A fireman, Lewis Rober, played a very big role in developing the game. He needed something to keep his Minneapo-lis firemen busy while waiting for fire calls, so he marked a field in a lot next to the fire station.

did you know....? Every fastpitch game of the 1996 Olympics was a sellout.

Delta Heat ’98 first baseman Beth Kamimura prepares to force out Surrey Storm ’98 baserunner Taylor Jones in a Showcase Gold game at the Scotiabank Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship at Cloverdale Athletic Park. (Boaz Joseph/The Leader photo)

Player profile: Fast facts:

U.S.A. still unbeaten in international play

Team U.S.A. was the domi-nant side during the round robin of the Women’s Inter-national tournament.The Americans won all five games, conceding just nine runs to finish atop the six-team group, two games ahead of second place Aus-

tralia. The U.S.A. completed their perfect round robin with an 8-5 victory over Canada. Lauren Gibson and Lindsay Ziegenhirt homered for the U.S.A.Australia edged the defending champions from Japan 3-1 to clinch second place with three wins and a pair of defeats. Team Japan scored in the third inning, but couldn’t hang on. Stacy Porter of Australia came home in the sixth inning to tie the game. Clare Warwick doubled in the seventh to drive in Chelsea Forkin, then scored on a single from Stacy McManus.Japan, also the defending world champions, surprisingly finished last in the round robin with just one win. The lone club team, the California A’s, tied Canada and Venezuela with two wins each, but took third place on the tiebreaker.All six teams are in today’s playoff round.

Team BC drops first playoff contest

Team B.C. won twice on the final day of round robin play to finish first in the Women’s Elite division, but after lead-ing 3-0 after batting in the fourth inning, lost 4-3 to the Quebec Rebelles to start to playoff round.B.C. opened the scoring in

the fourth on a two-run single by Jaycee Affeldt, and a sacrifice fly from Kaitlyn Cameron.Quebec got two back in the bottom of the in-ning, then scored the tying and winning runs in the fifth on a two-run hit from Lyndee Flanagan.The White Rock Renegades won their first playoff contest, hanging on for a 6-5 win over the North-west Lady Sharks.The Renegades sent eight batters to the plate and scored four times in the second inning, be-fore adding two more in the third on a two-run single from Katie Soderberg.The Sharks cut the difference to one after four innings, but were shutout over the last three frames.The Women’s Elite final is today (Sunday) at 4 p.m. on Softball City’s Diamond #1.The Futures and Select Gold divisions also have their finals today at Softball City. The Futures final is at 4 p.m. on Diamond #2, while the Showcase championship game is on Diamond #2 at 1:30 p.m.

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4 CANADIAN OPEN FASTPITCH HOTSHEET • Sunday July 21, 2013